Spiral actuator for sliding jaw end wrench



July 10, 1956 G. F. scHLoTE 2,753,748

SPIRAL ACTUATOR FOR SLIDING JAW END WRENCH Filed March 19. 1954 61u do EUS/652036 Patented July 10, 1956 SPIRAL ACTUATOR FOR SLlDlNG JAW END WRENCH Guido F. Schlote, El Cajon, Calif., assigner to Moritzacky- Schlote Engineering Co., Lemon Grove, Calif.

Application March 19, 1954, Serial No. 417,297

3 Claims. (Cl. 81-165) This invention relates to an improved construction of actuating means for a sliding jaw end wrench and has for its primary object to provide an actuator unit including a torque imparting element which will rotate without binding in the Wrench handle and which is so constructed as to minimize frictional resistance to rotation thereof so that less manual force is required to actuate the sliding jaw.

Spiral actuated sliding jaw end wrench have not been completely satisfactory due to the fact that there is a lateral displacement or force exerted against the spiral by movement of the actuating slide and which tends to displace the spiral away from its axial disposition in the handle bore causing the journals at the ends of the spiral to bind in their bearings thereby greatly increasing resistance to rotation of the spiral.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an actuating unit wherein this increased resistance to rotation of the spiral by movement of the actuating slide will be substantially eliminated thereby enabling the actuating unit to exert a greater amount of torque relative to the force exerted on the actuator slide.

Another object of the invention is to provide an actuating unit of extremely simple construction which may be easily applied to or removed from a wrench handle in a partially assembled condition and which in addition to being more efficient, will be substantially more durable than conventional spiral type actuating units.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a wrench provided with the improved actuator unit;

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional View, partly in elevation thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view through the wrench handle, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-43 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, partly in elevation, of the forward'end of the actuator unit, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view through the wrench handle taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 5--5 of Figure 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the improved wrench in its entirety is designated generally 7 and, as illustrated, may be formed of mating sections, designated generally S and 9, having complementary portions combining to form a wrench head 10 and a handle 11.

The sections 8 and 9 may be secured together along their abutting faces 12 in any suitable manner. The portions of the sections 8 and 9 forming the handle 11 are recessed to provide a relatively large bore 13 which extends from adjacent the head and which opens outwardly of the handle end disposed remote from said head.

The sections 8 and 9 are also recessed to provide a bore 14 in the head 10 which is disposed obliquely to the axis of the bore 13 and handle 11 and which has a closed end provided with a restricted frusto-conical socket 15. The opposite end of the bore 14 terminates in an enlarged internally threaded bore end 16 which opens outwardly of the head 1t). The forward end of the handle bore 13 opens into the bore 14 at a point spaced from the ends of said bore 14.

The outer edge of the head 10 which is disposed remote from the handle 11 is recessed as seen at 17 to form a stationary jaw 18 which constitutes an integral part of the head 10 and which is disposed remote from and at substantially an oblique angle to the axis of the handle 11. The head 10'is provided with a recessed interior 19 forming a passage which extends parallel to the bore 14 and which has an inner edge opening laterally into the bore 14 and a restricted outer edge portion 20 which opens outwardly of the head 10 through the recess 17, as best seen in Figure 2.

A worm 21 is loosely disposed in the bore 14 and has a restricted frusto-conical end 22 which is journaled in the socket 15. The core of the worm 21 beyond the end of the thread thereof, located remote from the core end 22, is provided with a toothed enlargement forming a pinion 23. The other end of the core portion of the worm 21, beyond the pinion 23, has a tapered terminal 24 which is journaled in an inwardly tapered socket 25, formed in an inner end of an externally threaded thrust bearing 26, which threadedly engages the threaded bore end 16.

A movable jaw 27 has a shank 28 which slidably engages in the passage 19 and which has a restricted side edge portion 29 at its inner end provided with teeth which engage the thread of the worm 21. Said shank 28 has a cutaway or recessed side edge portion 30 at its opposite end which is laterally spaced from the pinion 23 and bearing 26. The other outer side edge 31 of the shank 28 is reduced in thickness to slidably fit the restricted outer passage portion 20. The jaw 27 is formed integral with and projects from said recessed shank portion 31, at the end of the shank 28 located remote from its toothed portion 29. The jaw 27 extends laterally from the shank 28 and is disposed in opposed relationship to the stationary jaw 18 for movement toward and away from the jaw V18 when the shank 28 is reciprocated in the passage 19. The parts previously described are substantially identical to complementary parts as disclosed in my prior U. S, Patent No. 2,603,116, entitled Spiral Actuated Slidable I aw End Wrench, and which issued July l5, 1952.

The improved actuating unit, constituting the present invention and which replaces the actuating unit of said prior patent, will now be described. Said actuating unit, designated generally 32, includes an elongated torque transmitting shaft, designated generally 33, having a restricted stem portion 34 at one end thereof of circular cross section and which tapers in cross sectional size from intermediate of its ends toward each end thereof. The stem 34 at its outer end is provided with an annular outwardly opening groove 35, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described. The opposite end of the shaft 33 has a restricted stem portion 36 which terminates in a further restricted splined terminal portion 37, as best seen in Figure 4. The shaft portions 36 and 37 constitute the forward end of the shaft 33. The portion of the shaft 33 of larger diameter, disposed between the stem portions 34 and 36, is provided with a helical or spiral groove 38.

The stern portion 36 is journaled in a bearing 39, which is preferably formed of brass. The bearing 39 is in the form of a sleeve having an enlargement 40 at one end thereof forming an annular collar or flange having a rounded peripheral edge, as best seen in Figure 4. An elongated bearing 4f, which is likewise preferably formed of brass, provides a journal for the stem 34, the intermediate portion only of which engages the bore of the bearing di. The bearing 41 is provided with tapered ends 42 the inner one of which is located adjacent an end of the grooved shaft portion and the other one of which is located adjacent the stem groove 35. A spring retaining clip 43 engages in the groove 35, as best seen in Figure 3, and bears against the last mentioned tapered or conical end 42 of the bearing 41 to retain said bearing in engagement with the double tapered shaft stem 34. A crown gear i4 has a noncircular axial bore i5 which ts nonturnably on the splined stem portion 37 beyond the bearing 39 at the end thereof located remote from its enlargement atl.

The shaft 33 with the bearings 3 9 and 42, the spring clip 43. and crown gear 44 assembled thereon, can be insertedl into the bore 13 of the handle il through the open end of said bore and with the gear 44 at the leading end of the shaft 33. This assembly can be moved longitudinally through the bore 13 toward the head 1G until the outer end of the gear d4y is disposed with the teeth thereof in meshing engagement with the pinion 23. A setscrew 46 extends radially through a portion of the handle l and threadedly engages a radial bore 47 thereof. The bore 47 is positioned so that the setscrew 46 can be advanced into clamping engagement with the bearing 4f when the gear 44 is positioned in meshing engagement with the pinion 23.

A shaft actuating slide 48, preferably in the form of a split collar, as seen inFigure 5, engages more than halfway around the handle l1 and is slidably mounted thereon for movement toward and away from the head 10.

Gne section, as for example the handle section 8 has a longitudinally extending slot 49. A pin 50 has a kerfed head 5l and a threaded stem portion 52 located adjacent said head and which is slightly smaller in diameter than the head and larger than the remainder of the pin 50. The threaded portion 52 threadedly engages a threaded opening 53 of the collar member 4S and the pin :36 extends inwardly therefrom and loosely through the slot 49 and engages loosely in a portion of the spiral groove 3S, as seen in Figures 2 and 5. The handle sections S and 9 may each be provided with an opening 54 adjacentl the distal end of the handle, by means of which the tool 7 may be suspended from a hook or the like, not shown, when not in'use.

From. the foregoing it will be readily apparent that with tre tool or wrench 7 assembled as illustrated in Figures l and 2, the user may slide the collar 48 longitudinally along the handle 1l toward and away from the head 10. This movement of the collar or actuator 48 will cause the shaft 33 to be revolved in one direction or the opposite direction, depending upon the direction of movement of the collar 4S, to impart rotation to the worm 21 through meshing engagement of the gear 44 with the pinion 23. Rotation of the worm 2l in one direction will move the jaw 27 toward the jaw i8 while movement of the worm in the Opposite direction will displace the jaw 27 away from the jaw 18. lt will be obvious that rotation of the shaft 33 will be caused by longitudinal movement of the pin 5) with the collar 48 and due to engagement of the inner end of the pin in the spiral groove 38.

It will also be apparent that this longitudinal movement of the pin 5,0 will have a tendency to force the shaft 33 laterally to the left as seen in Figure 5 toward the handle section 9, due to a tendency of the pin to attempt to cam itself out of engagement with the groove 3S. This lateral displacement of the shaft 33 even though slight will tend to produce a slight ilexure of the shaft and which would normally cause the shaft portions 34k and 36 to bind in` their bearings 41 and-39,

4 respectively. However, due to the taper of the stern portion 34 toward each of its ends, a rocking movement of the stem away from a position axially of the hearing 4l will not cause the stem to bind in the bearing. Likewise, a llexure of the stem portion 36 out of axial alignment with the bore 13 will not cause said stem to bind the bearing 39, since the rounded periphery of the bearing flange 4l)V will. permit said bearing to rock in the bore i3 suciently to accommodate this rocking movement of the stem 36. Liltewise, the bore 13 affords sufficient clearance for the gear 44 to accommodate this slight rocking movement of the stern 36. It will thus be apparent that the actuating unit 32, is so constructed that operation of the movable jaw 27 can be much more easily accomplished: with less manual force exerted on the collar 48 than is possible with other actuating units of an analogous type and wherein no provision is made for minimizing friction due to lateral exure of the helix or spiral.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

l claim as my invention:

l. In combination with an end wrench including a recessed headv and an elongated recessed handle, a sliding jaw having a toothed shank slidably mounted in said head, a worm journaled in said head having a thread meshing with said toothed shank, and a gear fixed to a portion of said worm; an actuating unit for said slidable jaw comprising a shaft loosely mounted for rotation in the recess of said handle and provided with a helical groove, said shaft having stern portions adjacent its ends and disposed beyond the ends of the grooved portion of the shaft, bearings in` which said stem portions are journaled includingV a forward bearing and a rear bearing, said bearings being disposed in the handle recess and having peripheralportions contacting a wall of said recess, a gear secured to said shaft beyond the forward bearing, and disposed in meshing engagement with the worm gear, Said handle having a longitudinally extending slot opening into the recess thereof, a slide reciprocably mounted on said'handle, and a pin carried by said slide and projecting inwardly` therefrom loosely through the handle slot and having an inner end engaging the spiral groove of the shaft for revolving the shaft to revolve said worm when the slide is movedlongitudinally of the handle, said rear bearing having a relatively long bore of circular cross section and uniform diameter disposed axially thereof, and thestemportion of said shaft engaging in the bore of, said rear bearing being of circular cross section and having an enlarged intermediate portion engaging said bearingbore and-tapered end portions, permitting a limited rocking movement of said stern portion in the rear bearing bore.

2. ln combination with anl end wrench including a recessed headand air-elongated recessed handle, a sliding jaw having a toothed shank slidably mounted in said head, a worm journaled in said head having a thread meshing with said toothed shank, and a gear fixed to a portion of said worm; an actuating unit for said slidable jaw comprising a shaft loosely mounted for rotation in the recess of said handle and provided with a helical groove, said'shaft having stem portions adjacent its ends and disposed beyondv the ends Vof the grooved portion of the shaft, bearings` in which said stem portions are journaled including a` forward bearing and a rear bearing, saidbearings being disposed in the handle recess and having peripheral portions contacting a wall of said recess, a gear secured to said shaft beyond the forward,bearinggandvdisposed in meshing engagement withthe worm gear, said handle having a longitudinally extending slot opening into ythe recess thereof, a slide reciprocably mounted on said handle, and a pin carriedby said slideandvprojecting.inwardly therefrom s loosely through the handle slot and having an inner end engaging the spiral groove of the shaft for revolving the shaft to revolve said worm when the slide is moved longitudinally of the handle, said forward bearing having an annular enlargement at an inner rear end thereof provided With a transversely rounded periphery engaging the wall of the handle recess and constituting the sole engagement of the forward bearing with the handle recess wall to permit a limited rocking movement of said forward bearing and the forward portion of the shaft relatively to said handle.

3. In an actuating unit for an end wrench as in claim 2, said rear bearing having a relatively long bore of circular cross section and uniform diameter disposed axially thereof, and the stem portion of said shaft engaging in the bore of said rear bearing being of circular cross section and having an enlarged intermediate portion engag- References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,306,020 Nelson .Tune 10, 1919 1,354,782 Schlote Oct. 5, 1920 1,391,180 Evans et al. Sept. 20, 1921 1,886,907 Rugger Nov. 8, 1932 1,915,396 Alemany June 27, 1933 2,322,550 Steinacher June 22, 1943 2,447,094 Schlote Aug. 17, 1948 2,603,116 Schlote et al. July 15, 1952 

